[[Image:Dwarfrunes.JPEG|thumb|The Anglo-Saxon runes as used in ''[[The Hobbit]]'']]

[[Image:Dwarfrunes.JPEG|thumb|The Anglo-Saxon runes as used in ''[[The Hobbit]]'']]

−

'''Old English''' (sometimes called '''Anglo-Saxon''', though [[J.R.R. Tolkien|Tolkien]] disliked the term) was the ancestor language of modern English. It was also the mother language of characters [[Ælfwine]] and [[Eriol]].

+

'''Old English''' (also called '''Anglo-Saxon''', though [[J.R.R. Tolkien|Tolkien]] apparently avoided the term<ref>[[T.A. Shippey]] (2000), ''[[J.R.R. Tolkien: Author of the Century]]'', p.XII</ref>) was the ancestor language of modern English. It was also the mother language of characters [[Ælfwine]] and [[Eriol]].

Anglo-Saxon used [[Runes]] for their writing system.

Anglo-Saxon used [[Runes]] for their writing system.

==History==

==History==

−

[[J.R.R. Tolkien|Tolkien]] was a professor of Anglo-Saxon at at Pembroke College from [[1925]] to [[1945]]. He favored especially the Mercian dialect and was strongly influenced by Old English literature such as [[Beowulf]].

+

[[J.R.R. Tolkien|Tolkien]] was a professor of Anglo-Saxon at at Pembroke College from [[1925]] to [[1945]]. He favored especially the Mercian dialect and was strongly influenced by Old English literature such as ''[[Beowulf]]''.

Tolkien wrote in Old English several texts of his legendarium, which he (fictionally) attributed to Ælfwine such as the ''[[Earliest Annals of Valinor]]''; they were published more recently in ''[[The Shaping of Middle-earth]]'' and are commented and edited by [[Christopher Tolkien]]. These texts have been criticized because Christopher Tolkien did not provide a translation and they remain understandable only by Anglo-Saxon students.

Tolkien wrote in Old English several texts of his legendarium, which he (fictionally) attributed to Ælfwine such as the ''[[Earliest Annals of Valinor]]''; they were published more recently in ''[[The Shaping of Middle-earth]]'' and are commented and edited by [[Christopher Tolkien]]. These texts have been criticized because Christopher Tolkien did not provide a translation and they remain understandable only by Anglo-Saxon students.

Contents

History

Tolkien was a professor of Anglo-Saxon at at Pembroke College from 1925 to 1945. He favored especially the Mercian dialect and was strongly influenced by Old English literature such as Beowulf.

Tolkien wrote in Old English several texts of his legendarium, which he (fictionally) attributed to Ælfwine such as the Earliest Annals of Valinor; they were published more recently in The Shaping of Middle-earth and are commented and edited by Christopher Tolkien. These texts have been criticized because Christopher Tolkien did not provide a translation and they remain understandable only by Anglo-Saxon students.

In earlier notes concerning the The Book of Lost Tales, Tolkien commented that Old English was the only language the Elves of Eressëa could talk to Men, and that was how they talked to Ælfwine.